How You Can Change a Life with One Animal

Of all the livestock options, goats are some of the most hearty, making them an extremely valuable asset to a family living in abject poverty. They can survive extremely harsh climates and reproduce easily. They are small, so not much land or space is required to house them. Goats can provide meat, dairy and hides. By all accounts, goats have the potential to be life-changing, which is why Food for the Hungry (FH) puts such emphasis on them.

Here’s one story where you see that potential realized.

Goats make a difference all around the globe. These goats are making a difference in India.

Tears Were My Daily Food

Alice lives in Uganda (click here to read more about Uganda). Most of her life has been challenging, but it got worse when her parents passed away nearly a decade ago, leaving Alice and her four siblings.

Sponsored child and orphan Alice was given a goat to care for and raise during a livestock distribution. Now, she has seven goats and has been able to pay for her education, school uniforms, shoes, books and pens.

“Life in general has not been smooth on my side and on my other siblings since our parents passed away,” Alice said. “It has been full of struggles to get the basic needs like food, heath care and treatments, education, parental care and love, which I think of as a luxury.”

Alice and her siblings began by living with her grandparents, where they continuously struggled to make ends meet.

“We ate one meal a day,” Alice said. “The situation made me become too bitter in my heart and tears were my daily food – telling God, why us? Little did I know that God had a good and bigger plan for my future through FH Uganda.”

How a Goat Changed Alice’s Life

FH began to do work in Alice’s community in 2010. The following year, Alice was registered as a sponsored child (click here to learn more about child sponsorship.) Later that year, the children in her primary school were given a goat to raise together. Since then, the goat has continued having children. Now, Alice has seven goats of her own.

“I gave that goat a name called ‘Gum’ meaning blessing,” Alice said. “It’s these goats that have enabled me to stay in school and continue my education.”